Historical Railroad Tycoons & Inventors

Complied by Rachel E.S. Walton

These are some of inventors, innovators, (often ethically questionable) businesspeople, and wives behind the birth and expansion of the railroad. There are a handful of exceptions, but most of the names are from 19th century U.S. and Europe (England, especially). While the generously mustachioed men receive the lion’s share of fame, some of the women were also inventors or major philanthropists in their own right.

Male Names 1

  1. Oaks Ames
  2. Christopher Blackett
  3. John Insley Blair
  4. Daniel Chase Corbin
  5. Erastus Corning
  6. Joshua Lionel Cowen
  7. Charles Crocker
  8. Eugene V. Debs
  9. Grenville M. Dodge
  10. Daniel Drew
  11. Thomas Clark Durant
  12. Oliver Evans
  13. James Fisk
  14. John Work Garrett
  15. Jay Gould
  16. Julius Griffiths
  17. Edward H. Harriman
  18. Fred Harvey
  19. David Hewes
  20. James J. Hill

Male Names 2

  1. Cyrus K. Holliday
  2. Mark Hopkins, Jr.
  3. Collis P. Huntingdon
  4. William Jessup
  5. Theodore Judah
  6. Otto Kuhler
  7. Anatole Mallet
  8. Charles Minot
  9. John Pierpont Morgan
  10. William Murdoch
  11. Matthew Murray
  12. Benjamin Outram
  13. Wilhelm von Pressel
  14. George Pullman
  15. Russell Sage
  16. A. Leland Stanford
  17. Arthur Stilwell
  18. Richard Trevithick
  19. Cornelius Vanderbilt
  20. George Westinghouse

Female Names 1

  1. Margaret Anderson
  2. Mary Williamson Averell
  3. Elizabeth Banfield
  4. Eveline O. Gelman
  5. Catherine L. Gibbon
  6. Simonne Gillot
  7. Sheila Gooddie
  8. Matilda C. Gray
  9. Rachel Ann Harrisson
  10. Jane Harvey
  11. Frances (Fanny) Henderson
  12. Mary Hopkins
  13. Louisa M. Jackson
  14. Sophia Johnson
  15. Mary Dillon Jones
  16. Anna Lathrop
  17. Jane Elizabeth Lathrop
  18. Cecelia Liberman
  19. Nancy Ann Locke
  20. Ann MacGregor

Female Names 2

  1. Barbara Sarah Mattas
  2. Roxanna Mead
  3. Mary Theresa Mehegan
  4. Kate Metzel
  5. Helen Day Miller
  6. Margaret (Peggy) Miller
  7. Lucy Moore
  8. Anne Pierce
  9. Anna Coffin Ray
  10. Mary I. Riggin
  11. Hattie Amelia Sanger
  12. Margaret Olivia Slocum
  13. Harriet Sprague
  14. Amelia Sturges
  15. Dinah Tarleton
  16. Mary Thompson
  17. Frances Louise Tracy
  18. Hannah Heloise Trimble
  19. Mary Walton
  20. Jennie A. Wood

Railroad Slang

Find these and more at: http://www.freewebs.com/katydepot/railroadslang.htm

  1. Boomer: Transient railroad worker
  2. Bull: Railroad policeman
  3. Crowbar Hotel: Jail
  4. Diamonds: Coal
  5. Flip: To board a moving train
  6. Fresh Fish: A new hand
  7. Gaffer: A section boss
  8. Gandy Dancer: Section worker
  9. Gasket: A doughnut
  10. Gay Cat: A hobo willing to work
  11. Grease the Pig: Oil the engine
  12. Hog: Railroad engine
  13. Hogger: Engineer
  14. Rail Head: End of a railroad line
  15. Slip Car: A carload of bananas
  16. Smooth: A ten cent tip
  17. Snozzled: Drunk
  18. Spur: A dead end track
  19. Swellhead: Engineer or Conductor
  20. Torpedoes: Beans

Named Trains

  1. Beachcomber
  2. Bhambhor Express
  3. Burlington Zephyr
  4. Catch Me Who Can
  5. Corn Belt Rocket
  6. Curfew
  7. Daylight Limited
  8. DeWitt Clinton
  9. Empire Builder
  10. Fifth Avenue Special
  11. Ganga
  12. Glarner Sprinter
  13. Kingston Flyer
  14. Moonlight Nagara
  15. Motor Queen
  16. Senja Semarang
  17. Spirit of Progress
  18. Turboliner
  19. Virgin Invader
  20. Whistler Mountaineer